Can crusher and baler



April'l3, 1943. M SWELLS 2,316,734

CAN CRUSHER AND 'BALER Filed July 2, 1941 "IIA'IIIIII/I/I/IA INVENTOR. nmwszz- .s. WA-ZZ 5 v A 770/9! r Patented Apr. 13, 1943 UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE CAN CRUSHER AND BALER Mansel S. Wells, Shinglehouse, Pa.

Application July 2, 1941, Serial No. 400,831

12 Claims.

This invention relates to a can crusher and baler of the type disclosed in my Patent No. 2,234,098, issued May 4, 1941, but it is to be understood that its use is not limited to this particular baler as it may be embodied in any press or baler having an inlet and an-outlet and closure therefor which it is desired to have closed before a piston or plunger may be moved in a power stroke.

One object of the invention is to provide a baler with an outlet closure having means associated therewith which will serve every purpose to effectively prevent a plunger from being moved in a power stroke while the outlet closure is in open position and thus eliminate danger of a person being injured by the plunger moving in its power stroke while the hand of the person is thrust into the baler for removal of a bale through the outlet.

Another object of the invention is to provide the outlet closure withcontrol means so mounted that it is moved from its inoperative position to operative position byclosing of the-closure and a latch forming an element of the control'means shifted into position to prevent closing of a closure for an inlet and subsequent movement of the plunger or piston in a power stroke.

Another object of the invention is to provide control means which may be easily applied to a press or baler and connected with the outlet door for actuation thereby when the door is opened or closed.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a View showing a baler having control means of the improved construction mounted thereon and connected with the doorof its outlet.

Fig. 2 is a view looking at the back of the baler.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. -1, showing the outlet door open and the control moved to operative position.

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view on the line 4- of Fig. l.

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

The housing or casing l of the baler is disposed vertically and has a base 2 of such size that it will support the baler in upright position. The housing isopen at its front to provide an upper inlet 3 and a lower outlet 4 and, in order to close the inlet and the outlet, there have been provided doors or equivalent closures 5 and 6 hinged, as shown at 1 and 8, so that they may be moved'to open and closed positions. By this arrangement, cans or other material-tabeformed into bales may be inserted in the housing through the upper inlet and formed bales withdrawn through the lower outlet. Slots 9 are formed in the bottom and rear wall of the housing in order that a binding wire may be passed about cans or other material held under pressure in the housing and secured as a binder for a formed bale.

The piston H], by means of which the cans are crushed and compressed in the housing, is shiftable vertically therein, and this piston is carried by a piston rod H. which extends vertically in a cylinder I2 carried by and extending from the head or top wall l3 of the housing, in an upward direction. A cup I4 is mounted at the upper end of the piston rod and engaged by the upper end of the spring l5 which serves to urge the piston rod upwardly and normally hold the piston in the raised position of Fig. 1. Compressed air is employed as means for forcing the piston rod downwardly and causing the piston to move downwardly in a power stroke. This air is received from any suitable source of supply, through a pipe I6 leading to a valve casing I! in which is mounted valve mechanism of suitable formation, such as shown in my prior Patent No. 2,234,098. When the valve is opened, air is admitted to the top of the cylinder I2 to act on the cup l4 and force the piston rod downwardly and, when the piston rod is moved upwardly, air is allowed to escape through the exhaust pipe l8 having a valve gill mounted therein. This valve is actuated by means of a lever 20 and, when the lever is grasped at its front end and swung downwardly to close the valve and shut off flow of air through the exhaust pipe, the lever engages the stem to depress it and permit air under pressure to enter the cylinder from the valve casing.

The details of the valve mechanism in the valve casing have been omitted as such mechanism is clearly shown in the Patent No. 2,234,098, heretofore referred to.

In order to assure closing of the door 5 prior to downward movement of the piston rod H and the piston 3, a rod or link 22 connects the rear end of the lever 20 with one arm of a bell crank 23 pivoted to a side wall of the housing I and, since the other arm of the bell crank is connected with the upper door 5 bya link 24, movement of the lever 20 in a direction to close the valve !9 and efiect delivery of air into the cylinder, will exert pull on the rod 22 and turn the bell crank about its pivot to exert pull on the link 23 and draw the door toclosedposition. It will thus be seen that the door 5 will always be closed before the piston can be moved downwardly and there will be no danger of a person crushing his hand by failing to remove it from the housing before the piston moves downwardly in a power stroke.

It is also desired to eliminate danger of a person being injured by having his hand crushed by a descending piston during removal of a bale from the housing through the lower outlet. To accomplish this there has been provided a latch consisting of a metal bar or bolt which is disposed vertically and is slidable vertically through the guides 26 carried by the housing. The lower end of the latch is connected with the upper end of a rod 27 which extends vertically and has its lower end pivoted to one arm of a bell crank 28 pivoted to the housing and having its other arm pivoted to a link 29. This link 29 extends forwardly and has its front end pivoted to the lower door 6 near the lower end thereof, and, from an inspection of Fig. 1, it will be seen that when the door 6 is closed, the upper door 5 may be closed and the piston forced downwardly. When the lower door is swung to open position, as shown in Fig. 2, the latch is shifted upwardly to operative position in which position its upper end overlaps the arm of the bell crank 23 having rod 24 connected therewith and it is then impossible for the door 5 to be closed and the plunger or piston moved downwardly. By this arrangement, the upper door 5 can only be closed after the lower door 6 has been closed and danger of a person being injured by thrusting a hand and arm into the housing through the inlet or the outlet will be very effectively eliminated, as the piston can only be forced downwardly when the upper door is closed and the bell crank 23 cannot be moved to a door closing position while the latch 25 is in its extended position.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A baler comprising a housing formed with an inlet and an outlet, a closure for the inlet movable into and out of closed position, a closure for the outlet movable into and out of closed position, a piston shiftable longitudinally in the housing from retracted position to compressing position, fluid operated means for moving the piston in a power stroke, a valve for controlling the operation of said means, an actuating lever for the valve, a bell crank pivotally carried by said housing, rods connecting the bell crank with the lever and the inlet closure, a latch or bolt, guides for said latch carried by the housing and mounting the latch for movement into and out of operative position for engagement by the bell crank to prevent movement of the bell crank in a direction for closing the inlet closure and permitting adjustment of the valve to allow movement of the piston in a power stroke, a second bell crank carried by said housing, and rods connecting the second bell crank with the outlet closure and the latch or bolt for causing movement of the latch into and out of operative position when the outlet closure is opened and closed.

2. A baler comprising a housing formed with an inlet and an outlet, a closure for the inlet movable into and out of closed position, a closure for the outlet movable into and out of closed position, a piston shiftable longitudinally in the housing from retracted position to compressing position, fluid operated means for moving the piston in a power stroke, a valve for controlling the operatlon'of-said means, an actuating lever for the valve, a connection between the lever and inlet closure for closing the inlet closure as the lever is moved toward position for adjusting the valve to allow movement of the piston in a power stroke, a latch or bolt movable into and out of operative position for preventing closing of the inlet closure and for preventing the applying of power to the piston when the outlet closure is open, and a connection between the outlet closure and said latch for moving the latch or bolt from an operative position to an inoperative position when the outlet closure is closed.

3. A baler comprising a housing formed with an inlet and an outlet, a closure for the inlet movable into and out of closed position, a closure for the outlet movable into and out of closed position, a piston shiftabl longitudinally in the housing from retracted position to compressing position, fluid operated means for moving the piston in a power stroke, a lever for controlling the operation of said means, a connection between the lever and inlet closure for closing the inlet closure as the lever is moved toward position for effecting movement of the piston in a power stroke, a latch or bolt movable into and out of operative position for engagement by a portion of said connection to prevent closing of the inlet closure and application of power to the piston when the outlet closure is open, and means actuated by the outlet closure for moving the latch or bolt to retracted position when the outlet closureis closed.

4. A baler comprising a housing formed with an inlet and an outlet, a closure for the inlet movable into and out of closed position, a closure for the outlet movable into and out of closed position, a; piston shiftable longitudinally in the housing from retracted position to compressing position, fluid operated means for moving the piston in a power stroke, a valve for controlling the operation of said means, an actuating lever for the valve, a connection between the lever and inlet closure for closing the inlet closure as the lever is moved toward position for adjusting the valve to allow movement of the piston in a power stroke, a latch or bolt movable into and out of operative position for engagement by a portion of said connection to prevent closing of the inlet closure and adjustment of the valve when the outlet closure is open, a bell crank pivoted to the housing, arod connecting one arm of'the bell crank with said latch, and a rod connecting the other arm of the;bell crank withthe outlet closure and serving to move the bell crank in a direction to move the latch or bolt to retracted position when the outlet closure is closed.

5. A baler comprising a housing formed with an inlet and 'an'outlet, a closure for the'inlet movable into and out of closed position, a closure for the outlet movable into and out of closed position, a piston shiftable longitudinally in the housing from retracted position to compressing position, means for controlling the movement of the piston in a power stroke including an actuating lever, a connection between the lever and inlet closure for closing the inlet closure as the lever is moved towardposition for effecting movement of the piston in a power stroke, a latch movable into and out'of operative position for preventing closing of the inlet closure and for preventing the applying of power to the piston when the outlet closure is open, and means actuated by movement of the outlet closure for'moving the latchto retracted position when the outlet closureis closed. M

6. A baler comprising a housing formed with an inlet and an outlet, a closure for the inlet movable into and out of closed position, a closure for the outlet movable into and out of closed position, a piston shiftable longitudinally in the housing from retracted position to compressing position, fluid operated means for moving the piston in a power stroke, a valve for controlling the operation of said means, an actuating lever for the valve, a member pivoted to said housing and connected with the inlet closure, 2. rod connecting said member with said lever for imparting pivotal movement to the member when the lever is moved, a latch or bolt shiftable into and out of operative position for engagement with said member and preventing movement of the lever in a direction to adjust the valve for movement of the piston in a power stroke, and means actuated by the outlet closure for moving the latch or bolt from operative position to retracted position when the outlet closure is closed.

7. A baler comprising a housing formed with an inlet and an outlet, a closure for the inlet movable into and out of closed position, a closure for the outlet movable into and out of closed position, a piston shiftable longitudinally in the housing from retracted position to compressing position, fluid operated means for moving the piston in a power stroke, a valve for controlling the operation of said means, an actuating lever for the valve, a member pivoted to said housing, a rod connecting the member with said lever and imparting pivotal movement to the member when the lever is moved, a latch or bolt, guides carried by said housing and mounting the latch or bolt for sliding movement into and out of operative position for engagement by said member, a bell crank or lever pivoted to the housing, and rods connecting the bell crank or lever with the latch or bolt and the outlet closure and serving to move the latch or bolt from operative position to a retracted position when the outlet closure is moved to a closed position.

8. A baler comprising a housing formed with an inlet and an outlet, a closure for the inlet movable into and out of closed position, a closure for the outlet movable into and out of closed position, a piston shiftable in the housing from retracted position to compressing position, fluid operated means for applying pressure to the piston in a power stroke and retracting the piston to retracted position, a valve and an actuating lever for admitting fluid to said means, means connecting the inlet closure with the actuating lever so that the inlet closure will be closed when the lever is moved to open the valve and thus prevent power from being applied to the piston except when the inlet closure is closed, and means movable by the closure for the outlet into position for engaging the last mentioned means when the outlet closure is opened and preventing movement of the lever in a direction to open the valve and effect application of power to the piston when the closure for the outlet is open.

9. A baler comprising a housing having an inlet and an outlet, a closure movable into and out of position to close the inlet, a closure movable into and out of position to close the outlet, a piston shiftable longitudinally in the housing from a retracted position to a compressing position, means for efiecting movement of the piston in a power stroke including an actuating lever, a bell crank, means connecting the bell crank with the lever and th inlet closure, a latch mounted for movement into and out of position for engagement by the bell crank, said latch when in engaged position preventing movement of the bell crank in a direction for closing the inlet closure and preventing movement of the lever in a direction to effect movement of the piston in a power stroke, a second bell crank, and means connecting the second bell crank with the outlet closure and the latch for causing movement of the latch into position to engage th first bell crank when the outlet closure is open.

10. A baler comprising a housing having an outlet, a closure for the outlet movable to open and closed positions, a piston shiftable longitudinally in the housing from retracted position to compressing position, means for effecting movement of the piston in a power stroke including a lever, a bell crank pivoted to the housing and connected therewith for movement with the lever, a latch mounted for movement into and out of position for engagement by the bell crank to prevent movement of the bell crank in a direction allowing movement of the lever in a direction for effecting movement of the piston in a power stroke, a second bell crank pivoted to the housing, and means connecting the second bell crank with the latch and the outlet closure for causing movement of the latch into position for engagement by the first bell crank when the closure is in open position.

11. A baler comprising a housing having an outlet, a closure for the outlet movable to open and closed positions, a piston shiftable longitudinally in the housing from retracted position to compressing position, means for effecting movement of the piston in a power stroke including a lever, a bell crank pivoted to the housing and connected therewith for movement with the lever, a latch mounted for movement into and out of position for engagement by the bell crank to prevent movement of the bell crank in a direction allowing movement of the lever in a direction for effecting movement of the piston in a power stroke, and means connecting the latch with the outlet closure to cause movement of the latch into position for engagement by the bell crank when the closure is opened.

12. A baler comprising a housing having an outlet, a closure for the outlet movable to open and closed positions, a piston shiftable longitudinally in the housing from retracted position to compressing position, means for effecting movement of the piston in a power stroke including a lever, a member connected with the lever and moving therewith when the lever is moved, a latch movabl into and out of position for engagement by said member to prevent movement of the lever in a direction to effect movement of the piston in a power stroke, and means actuated from the closure of the outlet for moving the latch into position for engagement by said member when the closure is opened.

MANSEL S. WELLS. 

